Restless Spirits & Those Who Tend Them
by DragonflyxParodies
Summary: "How, exactly, did the Temple's sole guardian, the only being in Hyrule capable of keeping the dead safe and quiet, the last remaining true Sheikah in existence, find his immortal self babysitting a Hylian brat?" Sheik would like to know too. In which Link chases after a mysterious figure, and never looks back.
1. Chapter 1

_The rattle of dried branches and the sharp keen of the mourning caught his attention, and he let himself drift off of his path and into the tangled depths of the Lost Woods without a thought. Torn gossamer threads whispered after him, disturbing the silent wait of skulltulas nesting above. Ikana should have been his only concern—the canyon was festering, wounded so deeply he could feel the aching of it even in Hyrule—but to hear such a sorrowful noise in the Lost Woods of all places was a mystery unto itself even coming from the dead, and it interested him._

 _"But that's against the rules!"_

 _"Saria broke the rules!"_

 _"We have to fix it!" He reached over his shoulder, tugging his blade free as he came to a stop beside a tall oak, leaning against it as the tip of the ebony sword rested in the loam at his feet. There was a small clearing in front of him, and a slow smile curled his lips when he saw what lay bleeding in its center._

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Saria had always been more observant than the other Kokiri and she claimed she'd had him for five autumns when the Kokiri discovered him—so, by all estimates, he was about five when he met Sheik.

Kokiri were evanescent by their very nature, but there were two rules that had been locked iron-hard in his memory by Saria from the moment of his first breath. When lost, follow the music—and never, ever, _ever_ leave home unless Saria was there, unless she said it was alright.

But that morning…he'd heard something, a whispery sort of crooning beckoning him out into the dappled sunlight of the Lost Woods.

The Lost Woods never spoke to him, but sometimes he talked to the spirits, and every so often that made the Lost Woods sing back to him—but this noise…it was different. Spirits were silent, though he could always sense them…and despite that, the noise he was hearing…it was just what he'd always thought the spirits would sound like.

A warning.

The only Kokiri he had ever seen was Saria—the only _person_ he had ever seen was Saria—but he had known the moment he saw them that the creatures clustered at the bottom of the ladder were Kokiri too. They were tall and willowy and small, childlike and waiflike with the smooth polished wood of their skin. Saria didn't have hair like him, but he saw locks of oak and carrot tangled in the ferns and vines tumbling from the tops of their heads. Circlets of bramble and flowers rested on their brows, and their moss tunics were belted at their waists with green branches, still sprouting leaves and buds. He eyed them curiously, clutching the doorframe tightly.

They were…different. Spirits flashed agitatedly about them. They ignored Saria, swarmed around him. He'd never seen anything upset them before.

Nerves flashed, sharp, hot as lava. Fear.

He moved back into the house quickly—too quickly. The flash of movement caught the Kokiri's attention, and he heard the trilling shouts echo up from below. His terror spiked, heart stopped for a moment, and he found that his lips were moving, whispering to the spirits frantically, begging them to find Saria because he was _terrified_ —

"A _Hylian!_ "

"A what?!" Link scrambled away from the door, until he tumbled into the nest he slept in.

"It's a Hylian! Saria's got a Hylian!" The chatter disoriented him, and Link drew his knees to his chest and huddled into his blankets, squeezing his eyes shut.

 _Please please please please—_

Hands grabbed at him and he let out a cry, flailing his limbs as he was dragged from his bed and out into the sharp sunlight, the hard grip of wood around his forearms bruising.

The floor beneath him disappeared.

"Why would Saria have a Hylian?"

"Where is she?" The grip holding him loosened and he tumbled free, falling. His eyes flashed open, just in time to see earth flying towards him and he turned, twisting midair—

Air exploded from his lungs, vision going black as his head struck something. He lay dazed, gasping for breath that wouldn't come. The spirits began humming, louder and louder until their clamoring was a roar so overpowering Link began to lose awareness of what was going on around him.

He woke to sharp pain in his arm, drawing a cry from his lips as he was wrenched to his feet. His terror was sour in the back of his throat, pounding in his ears in time with the spirits. The Kokiri's cries filtered in, faint but growing more distinct as he caught his breath and shook the fuzz from his head.

"Saria kept the Hylian alive, though!"

"But that's against the rules!"

"Saria broke the rules!"

"We have to fix it!"

And the spirits _sang_ as something black shot free of a tangle of tree branches, and something swept the Kokiri holding him away. None of the Kokiri made so much as a sound, and Link lay there still where he'd fallen, crumpled in a heal, shocked by the vibrancy of the spirits as a series of thumps echoed from behind him.

And then absolute silence reigned for the longest time. He kept still for a long moment, and then scrambled up and stumbled as he tried to catch his balance—and there was a hand on his back, steadying him. He looked up, startled, scared, at the figure kneeling at his side.

Red eyes stared at him, dark and curious and critical.

"…They're…gone." The last word was spoken hesitantly, when Link threw himself at the stranger and hugged them tightly, squeezing his eyes shut as he buried his face in the stranger's chest. The spirits laughed at the stranger's surprise, sparking and flitting. It wasn't that Link could see them—the spirits were always invisible—but he could feel their presence with his mind, and he knew they were bouncing around.

It was a long moment before his heart stopped racing and the lump in his throat finally vanished. Link let out a slow breath, pulling back just enough to look up at the stranger.

"How come the spirits like you?"

"How come the spirits like _you_?" There wasn't much amusement in the stranger's voice, and it wasn't friendly, but it wasn't mean either. His face was mostly hidden—a thick grey cowl covered the lower part of his face and bandages were wrapped around his right eye, masked by pale locks of sun-colored hair. His visible eye was a brilliant red, and Link stared in fascination. He'd never seen anyone without blue eyes before. Something brushed his throat and Link blinked, startled—but it was just the stranger, tilting his head up slightly, eyes narrowed.

"…Hmm?" It was a prompt, and Link frowned at him. His voice was quiet and sang with those of a thousand spirits, echoing slightly in Link's ears.

"They're my friends. They tell me stories if I ask nicely. But you can't tell Saria!" He grabbed at the stranger's hand, eyes widening in his fear.

"And who is this Saria?" The stranger asked, very slowly standing, pulling his hand out of Link's grip. Link frowned at him.

"I don't know where she— _whoa_." Link stopped talking and swayed unsteadily as his vision suddenly blurred. The next thing he knew he was lying on his back, blinking at a wooden ceiling. He was in the house? On Saria's bed, he realized.

"Does it hurt?" Link turned his head and blinked at the stranger, curious. He was sitting beside Link, rapidly unwinding a thread of bandages from his arm. Why…?

"Why would it—" The stranger didn't look at him, but reached over and pressed down on Link's right arm. The pain was immediate—he cried out, and would have thrashed about had the stranger not held him down until the pain ebbed. Wordlessly, the stranger rolled up Link's sleeve and began tending to his arm.

It hurt more than anything Link had ever felt before, but he managed to keep himself silent by squeezing his eyes shut and holding his breath for as long as he could before taking another breath, and repeating the process. But when the stranger was done, there was only a slight ache to mark the pain.

"…You are brave." The stranger murmured, and Link felt fingers brush against his forehead idly. He opened his eyes wide, blinking up at the stranger in surprise as he sat up, his wounded arm held to his stomach.

"Really?" And he nodded, tilting his head to the side slightly as he did so.

"'Cuz Saria says I'm—"

" _Link!"_ The sound of something scrabbling against wood rose up from below, and the stranger was on his feet before Link had even registered that he'd heard something.

Saria's head popped up from the ladder hole, and she froze, eyes wide, terrified. The stranger had a long black blade in his hand, its tip leveled at Saria.

"That's Saria." Link said quickly, scrambling out of the nest and tugging at the stranger's leg with his good hand. For a moment, no one moved—and then the stranger lowered his blade, and Saria flew past him, scooping Link up. By some miracle she didn't jostle his arm, but Link let out a squeak of protest.

"Who are you?! What do you want with Link!?"

"…What use do you have for a Hylian child?" The stranger replied, voice as cold as ice. Saria stiffened, and Link took the opportunity to wriggle out of Saria's grip.

"What's Hylian?" Link asked, huffing as Saria grabbed at him again. The stranger leaned his blade against the wall behind him, copying its position with his own body. Both of them ignored him, and, sullen, Link plopped down onto Saria's bed again.

"Link's—I smell blood." Saria spun around violently to face him, hand shooting out to grab him.

The spirits sang again, and a flash of obsidian obscured Link's vision. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes there were bandage tails fluttering in front of him.

He scrambled to his feet, and threw his arms around the stranger's leg, hugging him. The stranger gave a strange sort of flinch, shifting, but Link refused to let go.

"Don't hurt Saria."

There was a moment of absolute silence, stillness, and then long, bandaged fingers touched his head, slid through his locks and rested, nestled at the base of his skull.

"…What is the child here for?"

"Living. This is his _home_ , you—"

"He's Hylian."

"He's the _forest's!"_

And the stranger's fingers shifted, slid down the line of his jaw and tilted Link's head up, gripping his chin tightly enough to leave marks behind.

Blood-red orbs met his, sharp and vibrant in the shadows swathing the hut.

"…No. He belongs to the dead."

Sheik left after the sun had set, when the forest wound its branches together to ward out the moonlight and it was so dark Link had to rely on the spirits to follow him.

He wouldn't see Saria again for six years.


	2. Chapter 2

"That's so—that's _amazing!_ I saw farmers doing it…no, sort of, but like _this!_ " The boy shrieked, giggled as he fell and tumbled through the grass he'd been running through. A horde of brilliant blue lights danced after him, some nearly black in color, others nearly white. His hands moved strangely, swinging together in tandem with the movements of the light when he'd gotten back on his feet.

Sheik watched carefully, through a half-lidded orb, as he continued walking.

The lights were flickering, fluttering and blurring as he saw the Poes for what they truly were, stitched-slit mouths curving upwards and chains clanking as they swirled around the boy.

He was a marvel, to watch. Capable of hearing the dead, and able to _listen_ …that was rare. To entertain the Poes so easily, so intently…

"Sheik! Sheik! I—I found a—"

The boy wrapped his arms around Sheik's leg, clinging to him so tightly that Sheik had to stop walking.

He pressed a hand to the boy's head, tugging at the boy's blonde locks so that he looked up at him.

"I found a sc—sc-"

"Scythe."

"Yeah! Well, I didn't _find_ it, they let me play with it. But can you show them? Please?"

"They've done nothing wrong."

"No, not _that!"_ The boy whined, and wrapped all four of his limbs around Sheik's leg.

"What are you doing?"

"Please? They want to see it! I'll be good when we get to the cas—casth—"

"Castle."

"Yeah! I'll be good when we get there!" He said, as if it hadn't been apparent he was going to anyway.

The lights started bouncing excitedly, one of them right off of the boy's head. Iron clattered, hollow eye sockets glinting like obsidian as patchwork flesh stretched. They began to swing in tandem with the boy's heartbeat, their own scythes shimmering, almost visible in the noon light.

Sheik smoothed the boy's hair back, tugging again, considering.

"…Let go."

"No."

The boy wanted to see a demonstration of power. Not for his benefit, though his blue orbs were sparkling enough to make it clear he'd enjoy it, but for the benefit of the Poes. It would soothe their restlessness, especially since Sheik would not be coming back this way for years.

He knew so much, _sensed_ so much, from the dead…

"Get down, Link." The boy pouted, but slid to the dirt without fighting.

"Will you show them?"

"No." The boy's cheeks puffed out, brow furrowing as he glared up at Sheik. He knelt in front of the boy slowly, taking care that his blade and lanterns didn't crash against each other. Link folded his arms over his chest, ducking his head into his chest and refusing to look up.

The Poes stopped circling, paused when Sheik tugged the boy's chin up.

"Why don't you?"

The boy's eyes went wide with disbelief, and then wider with excitement. He launched himself at Sheik, wrapping his arms firmly around his neck.

"Can I? But Captain said—"

"I'm supervising, aren't I?" Sheik murmured, and the boy inhaled quickly, sharply, and tightened his arms around Sheik's throat.

"…What if I don't have one?" He whispered suddenly, the sudden fear in his voice…

Sheik couldn't help but laugh at that, though the boy immediately whined, thinking he wasn't being taken seriously.

"It's not magic, Link."

"Yes it _is!_ "

Well. Perhaps it was, but not something Sheik considered _true_ magic.

He untangled the boy from around his throat, set him firmly on the earth beneath them, and spun him around to face the Poes.

Link clutched at his hand, holding it to his shoulder when Sheik moved to withdraw.

"I don't know how!"

"I know very well what the Captain and the Duke taught you without my permission, Link." Sheik murmured, and the child shrank inwards as if he'd been struck, letting go of Sheik's hand.

He tapped the boy's cheek, making him turn to face him fully. His blue orbs were wide, already swimming with unshed tears.

"You're not in trouble. Do you really think anything those two could ever do would escape my notice?"

"No." The boy's voice was small, hardly more than a whisper, and he balled his hands into fists before rubbing at his eyes.

"I'm sorry. Cap—Captain said it was a sec—sec—secr—" He hiccupped, cutting himself off, and his face screwed up with frustration as tears began to leak free.

"Come, now. You're not in trouble. Stop crying."

"I'm sorry!"

Sheik sighed again, waving the Poes off as they began to swing their not-yet-visible lanterns in wider arcs. He pressed a hand to the back of the boy's head, pulling him close so they wouldn't strike him.

"Do you want to try?"

"But you're—"

"You would know if I were mad, Link." He said quietly, speaking slowly, and the boy clung to him again.

He was a quiet, happy child, though easily flustered. Speaking was an especially large problem for him—not that Sheik could blame him. When one spent most of their time listening, and conversing, with the dead, one did not speak aloud often.

The boy pressed his face into Sheik's shoulder, not responding.

"Show me what you've learned. Show me that they were adequate teachers, that I don't have to make you unlearn everything that those fools taught you."

"That's mean." The boy's voice was muffled, and though his small frame relaxed, he didn't move.

"Prove that it isn't deserved, and I'll apologize." That was a lie. It would be bad to do anything that would make the Captain, or especially the Duke, think even more highly of themselves than they already did. Deflating their ego was always an exhausting task when he returned to Ikana.

The boy clung to him a moment longer before letting go, trying to hide his face as he rubbed at his eyes.

He'd learned _that_ from the Captain, and it was a habit Sheik had been working hard to break since they'd left. Ikana was a place of warriors and soldiers and kings, and they'd taught the child their ways. It was not the way of the Sheikah, and though the boy wasn't one of his own, Sheik found himself trying to teach him.

How he _loathed_ himself when he caught himself doing it.

Sheik stood, let the boy collect himself as he swung his blade off of his back and let it rest on the dust at their feet.

"Okay. Um, you'll—you'll help me, right?"

"You won't need any help, if they taught you right." The boy puffed his cheeks out again, but nodded and shuffled around to face the Poes again.

They were all still, waiting curiously. Watching the exchange.

Link drew in slow breath, and spread his hands out in front of him, palms facing down and fingers curled around empty air.

He started humming after a moment of absolute stillness, face scrunched up in concentration.

 _That_ was new. Sheik had let the Captain and the Duke and the boy keep their secret, but he had watched closely. And they had taught him nothing besides concentration—not that Link had ever attempted to summon his power before.

It was a tricky thing, but with the boy's affinity for the dead, Sheik had no doubt he would have very little trouble with it.

Slowly, the Poes vanished one by one, blue lights flickering wildly as their movements slowed and sighing through black-strung smiles as they disappeared. Slowly, a long thread of blue light began to glow in the boy's hands.

It was tricky business, putting souls to rest. Sheik captured them in the same manner Link was doing now—simply put them in his blade, or if a Poe, in one of the many lanterns he carried. If they were still sentient after a certain period of time, he released them in the Shadow Temple, or in Ikana—but most slept, passed on to the Goddesses during their confinement.

The boy was pulling the Poes into a form of a sword, nearly as long as he was tall. It shone, the blue color so dark near the hilt that it appeared purple—and with a sudden, soundless snap, became solid. The boy hit the ground with it, crying out as a long thread of iron links jingled, pooling atop him.

Sheik suppressed a smile.

The blade was much more elegant than his, the blade so white it glowed a pearly almost-blue reminiscent of the Poe souls that had forged it.

Well, he said forged, but…created. Made, to be more accurate.

The boy lay where he was for a moment, and then scrambled to his feet, drawing in a huge breath—and then froze, staring at the weapon lying at his feet, the chain clutched in his hands.

He was proud of the boy. He had accomplished a difficult feat, one that should have been impossible for him.

And then the child looked up at him, looking absolutely betrayed.

"But it's not a sc—sch—"

Sheik laughed until he couldn't breathe.


	3. Chapter 3

Sheik was sitting up on the roof of the castle, leaning against his sword, absolutely motionless. He had been since before the sun had risen, and still was, when it was well past noon.

Link had no idea how to get up to him.

The Duke and the Captain were fun, but they got really mean sometimes when he said he didn't want to be a soldier or conqueror—not that he could say that word, but they got the idea. And the spirits were fun, too, but he wanted to see Sheik and he didn't know how to get up there and Sheik was obviously _not_ coming down.

So Link had to find a way. And he would!

He'd already tried climbing the outside of the building, but the spirits had threatened to tell the Captain—because they weren't disturbing Sheik for some stupid reason, and the Captain was kind of terrifying if he was angry. He could try jumping from the pillars, but his legs were too small and the spirits didn't want him high up so they'd just go to the Captain if he tried.

And the Duke was inside, which was a problem, because Link had _just_ gotten away from him.

But he knew there was a staircase somewhere that led to the roof because he remembered Sheik taking him up there once to see the sunrise, when he was half asleep. He couldn't remember where it was, but he remembered that there was one. The spirits knew, he was sure of it.

"Will you help me? Please? I'll tell him it's my fault if he gets mad." Link asked, turning to look at where the spirits were probably lingering, under a scratchy bush near the entrance to the castle. He was getting better and actually finding their locations without having to use his 'sixth sense', as Sheik called it. He didn't know what that meant, but he could see where they were sometimes, if they weren't being mean.

And he clearly saw them leave, zipping away without even responding.

"W—wait! I—I'm going in anyway!" And, they were gone.

Link stared after them, lips twisting into a pout—and then something bumped his shoulder, and he turned to see a yellow Poe waiting for him, flames splashed in brilliant arcs around it.

He let out a squeal and hugged it without thinking, throwing wave after wave of thanks at it.

And then remembered what Sheik had said about talking.

"Thank you, thank you thank you!"

It moved, shifting in his arms, and something cold and sharp pressed lightly against the back of his neck. He let go immediately, blushing as his eyes fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry. I forgot to ask again."

The Poe touched the top of his head with the metal, and when Link looked up, grinning, relieved at the silent 'it's okay', began to float towards the castle's entryway.

He bounced after it, beaming.

It took him through a very long and complex maze of staircases, tunnels, and rooms, waiting for him every time it got too far ahead.

The further they went, the more complete the rooms looked—some still had furniture, though it was old and decaying, and sometimes bodies slept atop the beds or rested at the desks.

Sheik had said that there was a big war, and that the Duke had refused to surrender when the bad guys had laid siege to the castle—he'd destroyed every entrance to the castle except for secret ones, and told his people to leave through them.

None of them had.

Then there had been a lot of explosions and fire, and the Duke had cut his throne room off from the rest of the castle, forcing his people to either leave or die, and fought until the enemy commander had killed him with only his two eldest sons at his side—those who were smart enough to figure out what he'd been planning.

It warmed Link's heart, to see so many of the Duke's people still there, stirring as they ran past them. He whispered apologies for waking them, and most of them settled back down.

Not all of them had stayed, and that was good, too—Sheik had taken him to Clock Town once, and there had been a man with eyes as red as Sheik's there. Sheik hadn't let him talk to him, but it had been cool to see, even if the man hadn't been like Sheik.

And then they burst out of the castle, and the yellow Poe bounced off of Link's head before disappearing. He hissed a thank you after it, and then grinned.

Sheik still hadn't moved. His head was bowed, legs crossed, spine straight, hands at his sides. The sword was unsheathed, and all of the lanterns were unlit, which meant Sheik was probably adding more to them.

Link decided against yelling 'boo!', and against trying to wake Sheik up. He'd get in trouble and Sheik might ground him again, which was _never_ fun. Instead he crawled into Sheik's lap, being very careful to not disturb him, and nestled against him, looking out over Ikana like Sheik was. Or would be, if his eyes weren't closed.

He pushed his head under Sheik's chin, and grinned—he'd made it! He'd thought Sheik would wake up by the time he made it to the roof, because now the sun was setting which meant it had been a long time that he'd been following the Poe, but that was okay.

Sheik suddenly drew in a deep breath, and an arm slid around Link's stomach, and he looked up, grinning.

Red orbs blinked down at him, and Sheik sighed.

"I'm working, Link."

"I think you were sleeping."

"It's hard work."

Link giggled—Sheik hadn't even _tried_ to deny it.

"Did you have any good dreams?"

Sheik let out a hum, shoulders shifting as he leaned forward, away from his sword.

"Did you cut yourself?" Link asked.

"The sword is not meant for cutting."

"Yes it is." He protested. And Sheik's eyes were on him again, sudden and quick and sharp. Which meant Link had said something that was going to get him in _big_ trouble _._

"What makes you say that?"

"Nothing." He said it too quickly—not that Sheik wouldn't have known he was lying anyway—and looked down nervously.

There was a moment of silence, and then Sheik's hand pressed against his chin, forcing him to look up again.

"What did I tell you about lying to me, Link?"

His eyes went wide and round and—

"I'm not—"

But he stopped himself, face paling because he _hadn't_ been lying—or, he hadn't been _trying_ to lie, but—

"I—I touched it and the Captain yelled at me an—"

"Did you cut yourself on it?"

Sheik's head jerked back, startled, when Link's hand darted up, palm spread to show the silvery cut on his skin.

It had been a while ago, and the Captain had been _furious_ because Sheik had left Link with his sword when he went to talk to the Duke about ' _adult_ _things'_ and Link had been pouting—not that he would admit that to Sheik—and he'd touched it mostly because the spirits told him it was a good idea, and the Captain had absolutely _lost it._

So Link hadn't ever touched the sword since. But the cut hadn't hurt very much, if at all, and it had healed very quickly.

"Did it bleed?"

Link nodded, confused by the question. Of _course_ a cut would bleed.

Well, not for the dead. Maybe Sheik really had been working hard.

Sheik stared at him for a moment, fingers tightening, and then released him. He shook Link off of his lap, and Link bit his lip because he was _so_ in trouble—

And then Sheik's hand rested on his hand, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"Have you eaten today?"

"…I don't know. No?"

Sheik sighed, and Link started pouting again because even if he knew he wasn't in trouble any more, Sheik _always_ treated him like a kid when he made that sound. He swung his sword onto his back with his free hand, regarding him critically.

"Neither have I."

He reached out and caught Sheik's hand, wrapped his arms around the man's arm and clung to him as they trudged off of the roof.

"…You'll take an offering to the well, after you eat."

"Yes, Sheik."

It wasn't really a punishment, because Link often went down there—he just wasn't allowed down there without Sheik. And he liked the spirits down there, and the dead too. It was just extra work, because he'd had to do it before and dropped the offering and had to start all over _three times._ Carrying plates while climbing a ladder was _hard_.

"And, Link?"

"Yeah?"

"If you ever cut yourself on it again, I expect you to tell me first thing." His voice was cold as steel.

"Yes, Sheik."


	4. Chapter 4

Link was asleep when they arrived at Castle Town, and that was a blessing. The boy's head was buried in Sheik's neck, arms looped loosely around him, and he was out like a light. With all the hustle and bustle going on around them, the sudden crush of people and buildings and animals…it probably would have sent the boy into shock, if he'd been awake. Getting him used to people was going to be… _difficult_. Sheik didn't even like them, and there were very few dead in Castle Town.

He shifted the boy in his arms, drawing a mewl from him, and Sheik went absolutely still, going so far as to stop walking. The boy's sapphire orbs flickered open briefly, soft with sleep, and then he settled back down, fingers tightening around the back of Sheik's cowl for a moment.

He let out a sigh and tilted his head back, freeing himself of the fabric—Link's grip was going to pull it down eventually anyway—and resumed walking.

People stepped out of his way, eyes clinging to the Hylian child sleeping in his arms, whispers caged between bent fingers and strands of hair. Impa would know he was there _long_ before Sheik made it to the castle, and Sheik sighed again, but his irritation faded as he left the town center and market behind.

The Wind Fish was located at the very edge of Castle Town, right outside the gates and walls that kept the city separated from the King's Pass, and the castle.

The castle itself was probably the smartest thing any Hylian had ever done _ever_. It had been built in a flat valley surrounded by miles and miles of canyons and mountains on all sides save the front, with only a single pass, the King's Pass, snaking from its grounds to Castle Town itself. Castle Town was nested right up against the wall of mountains, right in front of the pass, as if its builders had tried to shove it into the castle's valley and then decided against it. Massive defensive walls surrounded it, creating a half-moon of rings, the buildings that each contained constantly growing taller and wider and always threatening to spill out of their confines. The sort of city that fighting through would be an absolute nightmare.

The Wind Fish existed outside of that, right outside the gate that led to the entrance of the King's Pass. There were only a handful of other buildings—by law, there weren't supposed to be any—outside of the city's walls facing the castle, but the Wind Fish was an old tavern, and under the direct protection of the Royal Family.

It was an old stone and oak building, and in the years he'd been gone from Hyrule, it had grown, arching over the road like another gate, two buildings connected by a bridge now rather than a humble inn it had been. Though there were clear signs of it being busy, there were no workers or customers outside. This time of day, though, most would be busy about the city, or the castle if they had business there.

Despite that, when he entered the main hall, a number of quiet groups of people fell silent and looked up.

Word had traveled fast.

"Shei— _oh_ , who's this cute little thing?" And before he could stop her or even wonder where she had popped up from, Telma was scooping Link out of his arms as she cooed.

Link woke up at that, letting out a whine and opening his orbs as he registered the noise and the contact.

And he panicked, when he realized Telma was holding him, eyes flashing wide and squirming, head jerking around to spot Sheik as he gasped out his name.

Sheik would not admit how much satisfaction he got from that, how Link clung tightly to him after Telma had released him and stared at her with round, frightened eyes as he waited for Sheik to reassure him that it was alright, that he was safe.

"You've gotten old, Telma." He murmured, and then she nailed him with a look she'd perfected when she was still sucking her thumb, a look that made it clear she knew exactly what he was thinking and thought him amusing for it.

"Not like you to travel with anyone. Are you returning the little dove to his parents?" Link sucked in a sharp breath, alarmed, and twisted to look at Sheik, hands fisting and tangling in Sheik's bandages and clothes.

"You're not—but Saria said—"

"Hush, Link." The boy fell silent immediately, though he was staring at Sheik with wounded, worried eyes. The sort of look that made the Duke take back whatever he had said to upset the boy in the first place.

"…No. He'll be staying with me. Is the room—"

"Is that his name? Link? How old are you, dove?" Telma asked, completely ignoring him.

She really hadn't changed at all, he mused, even if Link leaned away from her when she reached out and pinched his cheek.

"…nine." Link mumbled, glancing at Sheik.

He nodded, and the boy took that as a reassurance for everything—he melted back into Sheik, clutching him tightly as he hid his face from Telma.

"He's not used to the living, Telma." Sheik murmured, voice barely audible, and understanding lit her eyes.

Why else would he allow a child to accompany him?

She ushered them upstairs without another word, through the groups of people staring silently at his back.

He didn't think it would be a problem, the stares. Hylians were fearful of him, and his charges, and they would not ever dare to accuse him of anything or approach him. If Link went off by himself, though…

Well, the boy listened very well. He rarely did anything without Sheik's permission, and if Sheik told him to stay close, he would. He wasn't very worried about that.

"We've kept the room as you like it. Mostly. With the expansions, we made some changes. You would not _believe_ the rupees people pay to stay here now. I'll bring up something for you and the little dove to eat soon as you're settled." She chattered as she flipped through a thick ring of keys hanging from her waist, yanking one off and unlocking a large, heavy door at the end of the hall.

Even Telma, with all her muscle, had to work to get the door to swing open enough for them to squeeze through.

The room was sparsely, but well, furnished. Large, with an alcove with a window looking out over the top of the cliff the Wind Fish was pressed back against—an escape route, if one was needed. There was a bed pressed beneath the window, fitting snugly into the alcove, and a second, larger bed, pressed against the wall to the right of the door. A table, two dressers, a chest, and a pair of chairs cluttered the rest of the room, along with a handful of paintings and two vases with small bush-like trees growing out of them.

He grinned when he saw the plants.

"Deku trees?" He asked, and Link perked up right away.

"Stunted ones, nothing like those in the Lost Woods. Thought you might like them, though."

He set Link down and the boy scrambled right up to the closest plant, busying himself with it.

He had missed the Lost Woods, when they had traveled through it. He had been asleep, it had been the and Sheik had not been willing to waste the time dealing with his Kokiri. Sheik had promised him that they would return after he made certain nothing was wrong in Hyrule, and that had pacified him. But seeing something of his birthplace was obviously a good thing.

"Why two beds?"

"It's not just _your_ room, sweetie. Impa stays here occasionally too." Sheik winced at that, slowly pulling his blade off of his back.

"Thank you, Telma."

She turned, enveloped him in a hug before he could pull away.

"It's good to see you again, sweetheart."

And then she was gone.

xxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxx

"Is he really nine? He looks so _young_. And he's so _small_. I've never seen a child that tiny before."

Sheik blinked, glanced down at the boy asleep beside him. The boy was pressed into his side, arms wrapped around Sheik's own arm, and conked out. Sheik had pushed him hard, through Hyrule Field, and it was no wonder he'd spent most of the day sleeping—they'd traveled through the night as well.

But she was right. He hadn't grown much since Sheik had first met him.

"About that. He was found by the Kokiri as a baby. Raised by one of them."

"Until you found him?"

"He followed me out of the woods. Four years ago, now? He has talent, Telma. And the dead adore him…he can sense them, see them now." Telma's eyes lit with interest, and she took another sip of her tea.

"Does he help you?"

"Do you know how it works? The…capturing of souls?" It wasn't an accurate description of what he did, but he couldn't think of any other way of asking her. She knew nothing about it, after all.

"No."

"…You pull the souls into a physical shape. Poes are rather easy. They go to the lanterns." He nodded at the mess of lanterns hanging from his blade, lighting the room in rainbow hues with their flames.

"Dead with physical shapes are harder, more difficult. They need to be…anchored. Sometimes it's impossible. But the Poes enjoy his company, and he tried. Succeeded. Not for himself, but to bring them 'home'." He tilted his head as he spoke, to the hilt and chain dangling out of the boy's pack as it lay discarded on the bed. Telma's eyes went wide.

"He did that? But I thought you said they go into lanterns?" Sheik's lips twitched upward, and he pressed a hand over Link's ear—it wasn't something he needed to hear.

"If they want to go 'home', yes. But they chose to form an anchor for him. Instead of lanterns, anything he pulls will go into the blade. Telma, I am not telling you this without reason." Sheik added, and she nodded, a small smile flickering across her lips.

"You never do, sweetheart."

"…I do not want him to come to the castle with me, and…he gets into things that he shouldn't."

And she was doe-eyed in a minute.

"Oh, of _course_ I'll watch the little dove! Such a sweet thing, he'll have so much fun around here!"

"Do not leave him alone, unless he is in this room." Sheik said, and he stood up, picking the boy up as he did so. Telma stood as well, gathering up the dishes.

"I'm glad you came back here, sweetie."

"Don't call me that." She smirked at him, pressed a kiss to his cheek.

The last time he'd seen her, she' been young. Courting a man from Kakariko and managing the entire inn by herself. She'd said it hadn't worked out with the man…Sheik fully intended to find him, when he went to Kakariko.

And what she'd done to the inn was incredible, he mused, as he tucked the boy into the smaller bed.

It was always hard, coming back. Wasn't something he'd gotten used to, even after centuries of it.

"I'll leave early in the morning."

"I'll get him up after I've put breakfast in."

Telma dragged the door shut behind her, and Sheik let out a breath. It was late.

Tomorrow was going to suck.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **So it's one of my theories that most of the dead souls in Hyrule are static—that most of them don't pass on, if any. Most of my stories deal with that idea in some way. In this, Sheik's job is to bring restless spirits back to the Shadow Temple. And he only takes care of Ikana in Termina, unless it's requested. In Hyrule he goes everywhere, and he spends a few years at one before switching to the other.**

 **OMG THOUGH SLEEPY LINK SERIOUSLY. SO DAMN CUTE. I just love writing this lol.**


	5. Chapter 5

The screams gradually wove their way into his dreams, and Link woke up to the loud, panicked sound echoing throughout the entire canyon. He sat up slowly, not fully recognizing the sound for what it was, and then it hit him—

A hand pressed against his head, pressing him back down into the bedding and he looked up to see Sheik sitting beside him, blade naked and resting in his lap.

"Somebody's—"

"Go back to sleep, Link."

And the spirits were buzzing quietly in his ears, excited and…Link didn't know what. Like they'd been in the forest, the first time he'd met Sheik.

"But there's—"

"Would you tell the dead not to defend themselves?"

Link stopped, confused. Sheik held his gaze for a moment longer and then sighed, removing his hand.

Link moved over to his side carefully, uncertain, but Sheik moved his sword and let Link crawl into his lap.

"…Sometimes people think it's a good idea to break into the tombs and steal from the dead. Things they were buried with, or things left behind. The castle especially, because so much of it was lost beneath the rubble during the war."

"But the dead don't remember. Their lives. Right?" Link asked slowly. It was hard to think. It was night and it was really dark out, but Sheik looked wide-awake. So Link did his best to wake up too.

"Most don't. But sometimes they still feel attachments to things. And…really, Link. Would you like someone breaking into your home, crawling through your things? Your bed? Your _body_?"

Sheik's tone made Link shiver. He craned his head back, looking up at him.

Sheik wasn't looking at him. His eyes were ice-cold, hard as metal, and locked on the entrance to the well.

He'd never seen Sheik get _really_ angry before, but this was…almost there, Link thought.

"Why do they do it?"

Sheik blinked, gaze focusing on Link. Some of the scariness in his expression faded, but not all of it.

"Does it matter?"

"Don't they know they're hurting the spirits?"

"Better question would be, do they _care?"_

That shocked Link. He blinked, stared at Sheik with wide, confused eyes. And the screaming was still going, just…weaker than it had been before. Sheik sighed, shifted, and his crimson orbs gentled again.

"Go to bed, Link. The Captain is taking care of it."

"He can't fit under the well!" Link protested, and a humorless smile touched Sheik's lips.

"They wanted to take care of it themselves."

Link was quiet for a moment.

"…Do you do it?" He asked hesitantly. Sheik nodded.

"I protect them, don't I?"

The noise died, faded for a moment, and Sheik returned his cold, scary gaze to the well.

Link didn't like that look. Sheik wasn't scary, or cold, and he didn't need to look so worried about the spirits or the dead because if they were being hurt then they would take care of it, even if Link didn't understand _why_ they were being hurt. So he scrambled to his feet and ignored the soft sound of warning from Sheik because he was standing unsteadily too close to the blade and he threw his arms around Sheik's neck, hugging him.

Sheik flinched, startled.

"Don't be scared. Even if the Captain can't fit down there, the Duke can!"

Sheik chuckled, pressed a hand to Link's back. And though he didn't relax as much as Link wanted him to, he did calm down.

"Go back to sleep, Link."

"Will they be okay?"

"…I'll check in the morning."

"Can I come with you?"

"Of course not. And—Link. I want you to listen very carefully to me, alright?"

"Yes."

"If you ever hear screaming coming from there again, you are to come find me or the Duke. Understand?" The spirits stopped buzzing for a moment, as if Sheik had said something to them too, and then sullenly hummed in agreement.

"Yeah."

"Even if you're down there already." And Sheik sounded so serious, almost terrifyingly calm, and Link shivered even as he nodded.

And then Sheik _really_ relaxed, and ruffled his hair before tucking him back in.

Right before he fell asleep, though, he saw Sheik resume his position, leaning against the doorframe to their room, legs stretched out in front of him, sword's hilt resting above his head and point resting between his feet, and realized what Sheik was doing.

He was keeping watch, like Saria used to do when the other Kokiri were nearby.

"Sheik?"

He sighed again.

"You're supposed to be asleep, Link."

"Thank you."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **What? You thought this could be a cute fluffy story without violence or torture? You shouldn't read my stuff if you want that lol.**

 **Okay I'm mostly spamming this story bc it's quick and easy and fun to write and I'm trying to get used to a new keyboard; DO NOT GET USED TO THIS lol.**

 **One quick thing to clarify: Link refers to the Poes and other intangible souls as 'spirits'. The actual physical dead like Dead Hands and Gibdos and Redeads are 'the dead'. Sheik just calls all of them the dead or by their proper name. But Link's magical Sheikah-understanding powers let him know what Sheik means lol. (the spirits just tell him, it's not actually magic).**


	6. Chapter 6

It was still dark when Sheik moved, and Link whined, waking up. Sheik shushed him softly, and Link rolled closer to the wall, huffing and dragging the blankets with him—if Sheik was going to wake him up while he was sleeping, then Sheik would have to deal with the consequences.

A really long moment passed, and Link drifted back to sleep, or almost back to sleep, because suddenly Sheik's weight on the bed vanished and the spirits murmured, and Link was wide awake right away.

Sheik was as quiet as the spirits as he moved around the room, but the sound of his blade scraping across the floor was unmistakable, and the spirits sparked a little bit when the lanterns moved.

And then Sheik slipped out of the room, closing the door silently behind him.

All of his anxiety from the night before hit him hard, and he bolted upright, gasping.

She'd asked Sheik if he was going to leave him with other Hylians and he'd left so early in the morning—

Link threw himself at the window. Though it was still dark out, the stars and the moon were bright enough to show him blurry shapes through the warped glass—it was _weird_ , Hylian glass. Ikana just had open windows with wooden shutters, if the wood hadn't rotted away by then, and that worked much better.

But all he could see was part of a cliff and a not-very-well-hidden path that led up it. And part of a road, just a thin sliver. He shifted, moving around on the bed pressed right up beneath it and craning his head to see through it better, but—

And there he was, just the briefest flash of his sword and his cloak before Sheik moved out of his view.

Link glanced back at the door anxiously, but the spirits were already giggling at him, telling him there was no way he was going to be able to move it. So he looked at the window again, harder, because the lady had said that this was Sheik's room and Sheik would never have just one entrance in his room. They'd had a bunch in Ikana, which had been fun when he'd played tag with the dead, even if he always lost anyway.

He pressed against the glass, throwing all of his weight into it, and something rattled gently. He sucked in a sharp breath, but he found the latch hidden between the bed and the wall after a few minutes.

The window swung out silently, and Link gasped, shoving his head out to see where Sheik was—just in time to see him disappear up over a hill.

He ducked inside long enough to put on his shoes before climbing out.

There were vines clinging to the side of the building, and he used those to climb down, the spirits following him, invisible but warning him where the plant was too weak to hold him up or where the stone beneath was crumbling.

And as soon as he hit the ground, he snuck after Sheik.

And then he stopped, pressed flat to the stone path at the top of the hill, because _wow_. There was a castle, except it was different from the Duke's because it was white with blue roofs and really really tall and not crumbling or anything at all, and it had a big gate in front of it, and mountains behind it—

—And he could see Sheik, striding towards the castle farther down the path, passing over another hill.

Link waited until he had crested it before scrambling after him, careful to be quiet. Sheik had always won their games of sneak-attack, and hide-and-seek, and tag, but this time he wasn't expecting Link to follow.

Sheik walked right up to the castle, completely ignoring the guards that surrounded the gate, and Link had to stop following him there—Sheik had told him not to talk to anybody he didn't know. And they were _guards._

 _Living_ guards.

Link's heart stopped because they all grabbed their weapons, and _pointed them at Sheik_.

The lanterns swinging from Sheik's blade lit up so sharply and so brilliantly that it almost blinded Link. But the spirits didn't move, didn't break free. Even from where he was hiding, Link could feel Sheik's power snap down on them like iron.

He didn't see what Sheik did, but the guards put their weapons away quickly and shuffled out of Sheik's way like they were on fire, and Link was in absolute awe.

Angry at them, yes, but…Sheik had dealt with them like they were _nothing_.

And then he realized that Sheik was gone—vanished, through the gate of the castle, behind the guards and their weapons.

"How do I get in?" He whispered, shrinking in on himself. He swallowed back the surge of terror that accompanied the question, the thought.

Sheik couldn't leave him. He wouldn't.

 _…right?_

The spirits hummed, the sort of heart-deep song that warmed his bones, and Link shivered as he turned his attention to them.

They wanted to lead him somewhere, he realized.

He wormed his way back down the crest of the hill and followed after them.

Their humming was different than it usually was. Anxious. Kind of like how Link was feeling, except they wouldn't be worried about Sheik leaving them behind because Sheik _always_ came back for them, even if it took a long time.

He wondered if they were upset because of the castle. Or what was in it.

They led him off of the road to the biggest, longest row of bushes he had _ever_ seen in his life. And then they waited for him to ask the bushes to let them through, _please_ , before going on.

The bushes pulled their lowest branches up and made a tunnel for him, and Link promised to tell Saria how helpful and nice they were when Sheik took him back to see her.

That made them happy. It made the spirits happy too, and their humming calmed a little bit.

Link let out a slow breath before wiggling his way through the tunnel the bushes had made. The dirt beneath their branches was soft, but still damp and frigid, and by the time he'd crawled through all of them he was shivering and dirt was matted onto his clothes.

He did his best to brush it off, but the spirits started to get restless and—well, Link didn't want Sheik to get too far ahead. He didn't know the castle and if he lost Sheik, or the spirits lost Sheik, then he'd be lost too and that terrified him.

Behind the bushes was a river, except it was sunken low in the ground. Like a miniature canyon, sort of. On the other side, right up against the edge of the earth, was a huge white wall—the castle.

He stared at it in awe for a moment, and then froze when it dawned on him.

"…How am I gonna get across?" He whispered, looking towards the spirits sharply. Their humming changed momentarily, became something closer to laughter than a song.

They led him further down the river, away from the entrance Sheik had gone through, until the edge of the ground stopped being so cliff-like and sloped down into the water. There were some rocks, just barely hidden beneath the surface of the water, and he followed the spirits across them to the edge of the river's bank on the other side. He was just barely tall enough to grab the lip of the edge and pull himself up against the castle's walls, thankfully.

The spirits couldn't really do much for him if he needed _physical_ help, after all. Besides maybe going to get Sheik, but…he didn't want that. But maybe if there were other dead around here? That was unlikely, though, with so many living people around. They liked quiet.

The spirits had him inch back towards where he'd come from. It was slow going, because Link didn't want to slip, and there wasn't much walking room—he had to press his back as tightly against the castle wall as he could just to move.

And then the spirits told him to stop, and he did, and then they told him to kick the wall behind him. And he did.

The stone behind him shivered and terror leapt into his throat because if he fell forward into the water—

He landed on his back, dust puffing up around him like a cloud. It took him a moment to get his bearings, another to crawl onto his feet.

The spirits had shown him a passage, just big enough for him to walk through. It was too dark for him to see anything, but the spirits urged him on and he followed, shuffling forward slowly with his hands outstretched.

After a while he touched something hard, and after a few seconds exploring it discovered it was a door.

The handle didn't turn very easily, but the spirits urged him on and eventually he got it to open just enough to crawl through.

He found himself behind a huge row of bushes. He'd never seen bushes like them before, though—they were tall, and straight, and their branches were woven so thickly together he couldn't see out of them. And they didn't have much magic in them—they barely acknowledged his presence, and they were slow, sluggish.

He made a face, pulling away from them and following the path that led up to the door. The Lost Woods was always alive—even in the Canyon, the few plants there had been alive too. These weren't. Not in the same sense, anyway, because even the dead felt livelier.

Maybe Sheik would know?

The spirits hummed again, told him excitedly that they were close, and he broke into a run as he followed them through a maze of the not-dead plants. He had to crawl through some of them, and their branches scratched as his face and his arms. He couldn't ask the plants to move for him—they didn't respond to him and he suspected that they only got meaner the more he asked—so he suffered quietly. Only a few scratches were deep enough to draw blood, and they stung more than anything else so it wasn't too bad.

The spirits got quiet, suddenly, and Link crawled out into a large, grassy space. A circular courtyard, ringed with skinny trees and rows of pink flowers, with a white stone platform at the far end and a stained-glass window.

Link stumbled out of the bushes rubbing at his clothes and the dirt and grass stains that covered them. Sheik would be _furious_ he'd gotten so dirty, but—

"Who are you?"

Link froze, and slowly looked around for the speaker.

He found her standing beside the window, her white dress blending in with the pearly stone behind her so well he almost missed her. Again.

The spirits took note of her, which was strange. They usually didn't even acknowledge the living. Though they didn't pay her any mind after seeing her it was more than he'd ever seen them give anyone besides himself and Sheik.

"I asked you a question." She said, and she marched up to him with her hands on his hips.

"L—Link." He stepped back, leaning as far away from her as he could. He didn't know her, and Sheik wasn't around, and even if the spirits didn't seem too bothered by her presence, Link was still unsure.

"Link? What kind of name is that?" She leaned forward as she asked, prompting Link to lean farther away—and he fell, landing on his back with a thump.

He didn't know where she was going with that. The Captain and the Duke had never made fun of his name. And neither had Sheik.

"Saria gave it to me."

She frowned at him.

"I'm Zelda."

"…Can you m—move please?" She blinked at him, not moving. Link slowly started to push himself up anyway, and she skipped back as he stood.

"What are you doing here?"

"…Looking for somebody." He remembered the looks the living had given Sheik, given him the past night, and…it didn't feel _safe_ , to say he was looking for Sheik. She might not help him, if she knew.

But she didn't ask about who he was looking for.

"How'd you get in here? Did you sneak past the guards?"

"The who?"

Had there been guards? He didn't remember any. Besides the ones Sheik had scared.

She puffed her cheeks out at that, but then reached forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Well—since you're here, we might as well play a game."

"A—but—"

"C'mon!" She pulled him after her, into the center of the courtyard. She seemed excited, and the spirits didn't seem to think she was dangerous or anything…

"Do you want to play hide-and-seek?" She asked, once she'd stopped running and let go of him. Link brightened at that—it was his favorite game to play with the Duke—and nodded. She beamed.

"Alright, I'll count! You hide!"

He hesitated a minute, but…it sounded fun. He'd never played with another living kid before.

Sheik wouldn't be mad, would he? The spirits didn't seem bothered by her—and they weren't upset anymore, maybe because he was in the castle where Sheik was?

Just for a little bit. He'd only play with her for a few games, and then he'd go find Sheik.

"…Okay."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're fast!" He flopped onto the grass beside her, gasping for breath, and she huffed out a laugh. They were laying amongst the flowers she'd said she'd planted, but Zelda didn't seem too concerned about crushing them so neither was Link.

"You're just slow."

"I haven't played tag in a long time." He admitted, shrugging.

"Then what do you play?"

The question actually made him think.

"Um…chase, mostly. Hide-and-seek. And the Captain and I play so—sold-soldier!" Sheik didn't really play games with him much. The spirits did, though.

"Isn't chase like tag, though?" She asked, face scrunching up. Link let out a breathless giggle and looked up at the sky, bright blue and clear.

"No. I'm not fast enough to chase them back."

"Chase who?" She asked. Link turned his head to look at her, and froze.

Sheik was standing in the entrance to the courtyard, blade resting against the stone wall, arms folded across his chest. His cowl hung around his throat, and though his expression was blank, his eyes were angrier than Link had ever seen them before.

"What are you doing?" Sheik asked softly.

Zelda let out a gasp, and clutched his arm, but Link wiggled free and stood up. Tears were stinging at the back of his eyes. He was scared, because Sheik was so upset, but he was also angry. Sheik had, after all, left him.

"I was looking for you." His voice shook, a little bit. But he kept walking towards Sheik, steady like the Captain had told him real men, real soldiers were.

"Were you now? And was the Princess helping you look for me?" Sheik's voice was scathing, ice-cold.

" _You left!"_ Link shouted back, fists clenched at his sides and tears finally spilling free. He immediately ducked his head, pressing his fists to his eyes and swallowing back a sob. And another.

Bandaged fingers touched his cheek, slid around his head and pressed against the base of his skull. He fell into Sheik's chest, accepting the embraced as he wound his arms around Sheik's throat.

"You were to wait in the room. Telma was to wake you and keep you busy."

"You were _leaving!_ "

Sheik sighed, softly, but lifted Link up into his arms.

And then Link felt Sheik go still against him, fingers tighten around him just a fraction. And Link felt the spirits _hiss_.

"What is that?" The voice was unfamiliar, sharp and cold. Not the kind of cold Sheik was, but dangerous, unfriendly.

"Not your concern." Sheik replied, voice just as cold. Link shifted, pulled back and twisted his head around to see the speaker.

She stood behind Zelda, hands on the girl's shoulders. She was tall, taller than Sheik, with white hair pulled back into a tight bun. She wore metal armor and a choker painted with the Eye of Truth, and the spirits shied away from her.

Her eyes were red, like Sheik's. Except hers were less bright, more brown.

"I highly doubt that, Sheik. The child snuck into the castle and has—"

"He's not a threat, Impa!" Zelda burst out, turning and tugging at a purple sash tied around the woman's waist. The woman responded by pushing the girl's hands away, murmuring a warning. Her gaze didn't leave Sheik, and him, though.

"I don't like you."

Zelda gasped, and Sheik tensed again, but the spirits hummed excitedly at his words.

"Boy—"

"Don't be mean to Zelda! And—the spirits don't hate good people!" Link added, squirming in Sheik's arms so he could scowl at her better. Her eyes flashed and she opened her mouth, but before she could say anything Sheik laughed.

"Good boy." Sheik murmured and though there as a bite to his words, he was still laughing. He shifted Link in his arms and turned. Link clutched at Sheik's cowl again, suddenly afraid Sheik was going to put him down.

"Sheik—"

"My business here is concluded. And the boy is _my_ business, not yours."

Link waved at Zelda, over Sheik's shoulder. She lifted her hand in response, before the woman pushed it down and hissed something at her. And then they were gone, out of his view as Sheik left the garden.

Sheik waited until they were back at the inn before yelling at him.


	7. Chapter 7

"There!" Sheik looked up sharply at the cry—a little louder than they had been previously—but it was only Link rocking back on his heels and jerking his hands up above his head so far he fell over. He had planted the last flower Zelda had given him. Zelda scrambled over, clapping her hands in excitement.

"All done! Thank you, Link!"

Link lifted his head and looked towards Sheik. When he saw Sheik was already looking at him he grinned, and Sheik tensed. It _may_ have been a bad idea to show Link the graves hidden beneath the Princess's courtyard—the Princess didn't know and he'd made Link promise not to say a word, but Link was _horrible_ at keeping secrets from her.

But Link didn't open his mouth and ask if the dead liked the flowers, _thank the Three_. Instead the boy just smiled, knowing and bright, and waited until Sheik acknowledged him before turning back to the Princess.

But, _yes_ , the skeletons buried beneath the earth did like the flowers. Loved that the children were caring for the ground above their graves and bringing life to their resting place.

Sheik suspected the boy knew that already, though.

There was a cry from the entrance to the courtyard, and a red-haired boy marched in. An older knight followed him, carrying a pair of practice blades and shields.

Sheik's eyes narrowed, but he didn't move from where he sat beneath one of the Princess's slender little trees. A nobleman's son, he guessed. The boy perked up when he saw Zelda, and puffed his chest out as he sauntered forwards.

"Here's good, Auru!"

"Of course, Lord Groose."

Zelda's head snapped up so quickly Sheik winced, but she was a little ball of rage in moments.

"Don't step on the flowers! Get away from them!"

Link just watched while she bullied the red-haired boy out of her flowerbeds. She forced him to stand in the center of the courtyard, where it was just grass. Obviously not what the boy had been expecting—he looked a little lost at her behavior.

"Your father said I had to come practice in the courtyard!"

"I don't care! Just don't step on the flowers! Link and I just finished planting them!"

"What are you doing?" Link interrupted, staring curiously at the knight. The nobleman's son, Groose, puffed up at the attention. Though he glanced down at his feet, and made sure he was well away from the flowers.

"Auru's teaching me to use a sword! I'm going to be a knight when I get older. Auru's here to help me practice. He says I'm a natural."

The Princess rolled her eyes at that, and Sheik tugged his cowl up, to hide his smile.

"The Captain only lets me use wooden ones too. He says I might hurt myself if I use a real one." Link said, clearly seeing the practice swords Auru held.

He really needed to teach the boy how to talk to others. The other boy took it as an insult, and puffed himself up again.

"What? You think you could beat me in a fight?"

"Well, probably. Everybody says the Captain is the best, and he wouldn't let anyone else teach me." That was a blatant lie, but Link had learned very quickly to not mention Sheik unless he was speaking to Zelda.

But _fucking Three_ , Sheik had a hard time not laughing at Link's words. Not said out of pride, of course, and it _was_ true that Link could beat the other boy, but it sounded so _cocky._

"Then let's fight! You can use my extra." The child couldn't be too much of an asshole, Sheik decided. Any other noble brat would have brought status into it. This one looked offended, but _excited_.

"Lord Groose—"

"Okay!" Before the knight could think of a way to tell the boys no the noble brat had grabbed the practice swords from him and handed one to Link.

Zelda looked on curiously, only warning the boys to stay off her flowers. The knight looked defeated, helpless, but he had the children stand apart from each other.

Link was bouncing on his heels excitedly, while the noble brat held himself stiffly.

Sheik realized a little late that this was a bad idea. The knight gave them a command to begin, and before the red-haired boy could even blink Link was lunging forward.

" _Hiyaaaah!"_ Link roared with all the ferocity he could muster, and the practice blade he held slammed into the dirt where the other boy had been standing _hard_. The other boy had fallen onto his back and barely managed to scoot out of the way. Link drew his sword up again, preparing to swing again—and Sheik caught the wooden blade in his hand, sighing.

The knight looked like he was going to skewer Link, and the other boy looked like he was about to burst into tears. The Princess was staring with wide, round eyes.

"What's wrong?" Link sounded puzzled, a little worried.

"Who are you sparring with?"

"…Him?"

"What is he?"

Link continued to stare at him in confusion, and the spirits that followed the boy so religiously started to laugh.

"What is the difference between him and the Captain?" Sheik tried again.

"The Captain's dea— _Oh!_ " Link cut himself off with a gasp of realization.

"You can't fight the living like you do the dead, Link. They get hurt. They can bleed."

"Then how—?"

"Don't. They can't teach you anything the dead can't, anyway." Sheik added, letting go of the wooden sword.

The red-head looked about ready to piss himself, Sheik noted with no small degree of amusement. But he accepted Link's hand and stood up readily, though he was shaking a little.

"I'm sorry. Thanks for asking me to practice with you, though." Sheik didn't think Link knew what he was apologizing for, but the boy sounded sincere enough. The red-head accepted the practice sword and gave a little nod, but didn't say a word.

Sheik stepped away and gathered up his sword as Link followed, waving goodbye to Zelda as they left.

Link grabbed onto the bandages wound around Sheik's wrist as they walked, pressing as close as he could.

"Do I have to give up training?" The boy asked, hesitantly, and Sheik looked down at him in surprise.

"Why would you do that?"

"The Captain's not here. And you're busy."

"No. But there are dead all over Hyrule that are much better teachers than he is."

Link sucked in a sharp breath, eyes huge, but didn't let the breath out or speak for a long moment.

"There are a lot more dead here than there are in Ikana, Link. And you need to learn to use your blade. That's something the living cannot teach you."

The boy brightened up considerably at that.

"Will you help me, though?"

Sheik pressed a hand to Link's head, tugged gently as his hair.

"Of course."


	8. Chapter 8

"You are _not_ to go to the castle without me, _do you understand?"_ Link nodded shakily, though his shoulders still shook and he continued to cry. He'd been fine until they'd arrived at the inn, and then Telma had begun fussing over him. He'd burst into tears immediately and been crying since.

Sheik sighed and stepped forward, kneeling in front of the bed. Link looked up and threw himself at him, locking his arms around Sheik's neck and crying into his shoulder.

"Do you know why I am mad at you?"

"B—be—because I snuck o—out."

He stroked the boy's hair gently, letting out a sigh. He should've led with a different question. Probably should have handled the entire situation differently.

"That woman. You saw that the dead didn't like her."

"Y—yes."

"She's why I didn't want you going to the castle. And now she's seen you."

"Is she b—bad?" Link's sobbing seemed to be lessening. He was hot to the touch and gasping for breath, but he was paying attention.

"You are not to go anywhere with her, especially alone. Do not trust her. And if you are ever in the castle, stay with me."

Link let out a hiccup, and rubbed his head against Sheik as he nodded. Sheik put a hand on the back of his head, and sighed again as the boy nuzzled into him.

He hadn't expected the boy to follow him. Hadn't expected him to be so upset, either. He was a brilliant child, but…Sheik should have realized it would upset him. Should have woken him, at the very least, and told him to stay put.

"Why don't the dead like her?" Link asked slowly, voice exhausted and quiet. It sounded like he was struggling to even speak, Sheik noted. He didn't say anything, not until Link asked again and sat up and faced him.

Sheik couldn't look at the child. He looked to the side, towards where his blade leaned against the wall.

"…She used to do what I do." It hurt, to say. To even broach the topic. The look of surprise on the boy's face hurt, too—Link would ask more questions. And Sheik couldn't justify lying to the boy.

"…How—but—then why don't they like her?!"

"She abandoned us."

Link blinked at him, shifted closer and put his head on Sheik's chest. He picked the boy up, wincing at the pain in his back— _fuck_ , he was getting old, and _fuck_ , he should've sat on the bed instead of crouching on the floor.

"I didn't know there was anybody before you." Link said softly, voice small.

"Just her."

"Why?"

"Why'd she leave?"

Link nodded. Sheik couldn't stand still, and he began pacing the room.

"…She left us for the living. And she will hurt you, Link, because you are living."

"That doesn't make sense."

"She's a hypocrite. She knows about you now, though, and she will not let you be. You are to stay with me at all times, when you are at the castle. If you are not with me or Telma, you _will_ find the dead. Understand?"

"Yeah." Link's voice was soft, heavy with exhaustion.

Sheik continued to pace, until long after the boy's breathing had slowed and steadied. Long after it had grown dark, and his arms had gone numb. Link let out a quiet sigh when he tucked him into bed, but didn't wake up. He studied the boy for a moment, mouth pressed into a thin line.

Even now, years later, and the boy refused to leave his side.

Impa was leaning against the wall outside the room, arms folded across her chest. Sheik closed the door behind him firmly before speaking.

"You touch him and I will kill your princess."

It hadn't been what she'd thought he would lead with. The shock on her face alone made it worth it.

"How _dare_ you." She breathed. He could see her instinctively trying to reach out to the dead, see her inwardly recoil when they failed to answer her call.

That, too, was good to see.

"How dare _I_?" He shot back, voice soft. He didn't want to wake Link up. If Impa did, he might stab her.

"You're caring for a _Hylian?_ A _living_ child?! You think your duties—"

Sheik slapped her, _hard_ , before he could think to stop himself.

"Let me make myself clear, _mother_. The dead come first. Always will, _as they should have for you_. But he comes before _you_. Before _any_ living. Your girl, though? _You?_ You are _nothing_. Don't lecture me, you hypocritical _bitch_. Anything happens to him, the same will happen to your brat."

He'd never hit her before. Never allowed himself to truly express how much he hated her. He didn't, then, but even _that_ much left him shaking. He turned and reentered the room, leaving her wide-eyed and frozen.

He slid to the ground, back against the door, staring at the boy sleeping across the room from him.

Lights sparked delicately above his body, the soft curve of a Poe's face flashing into existence as it peered down at him. It, too, was quiet, the chime that so often accompanied its kind absent. It turned to look at him, as it dropped itself onto Link's body. The boy didn't so much as move, and the Poe seemed comfortable.

Sheik swallowed back the burning in his throat, his eyes.

He'd rescued the boy all those years ago because the dead had asked him to. Hadn't chased him off because the dead were so adoring of him, and Sheik had been absolutely bewildered as to why, as to how he could even sense them.

And if _anything_ happened to him now, because of him, Sheik couldn't fucking handle it.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **If you're subbed to this story you may have missed previous updates, so please make sure to check!**

 **Just a quick update before we start getting into chps with an older Link and such lol. Going to a pride festival this weekend w/my cousin and some of her friends, I am super pumped, and I wanted to update something first. Hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you think, and have a great weekend!**


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